Tuesday, January 8, 2013

8 Reasons GMOs are Bad for You

Genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, are created when a gene from
one species is transferred to another, creating something that would
not be found in nature.

A large percentage of domestic crops (up to 85% of soybean yields)
have DNA that was tweaked in a lab, yet it is nearly impossible to know
which food items contain these genetically engineered ingredients.
Thankfully new mobile phone apps are making it a bit easier for the consumer to know what she is eating, but this is not enough.

GMOs are bad for your body, bad for the community, bad for farmers and bad for the environment. This is why:

The health consequences of eating genetically modified organisms are largely unknown.
Genetically engineered foods have not been shown to be safe to eat and
may have unpredictable consequences. When trans-fats were first
introduced, corporations battled to get them onto your grocery shelves –
and it is only decades later that this once novel food has been proven
to be extremely unhealthful. Many scientists are worried that the
genetically altered foods, once consumed, may pass on their mutant genes
to bacterium in the digestive system, just like the canola plants on the roadsides of North Dakota. How these new strains of bacteria may affect our body systems’ balance is anybody’s guess.

Food items that contain GMOs are unlabeled in America.
Why so sneaky? The European Union has banned GMOs, as have Australia,
Japan, the UK and two dozen other countries that recognize that a lack
of long term studies and testing may be hiding disastrous health
defects.

Genetic engineering reduces genetic diversity. When
genes are more diverse, they are more robust; this is why a pure bred
dog tends to have greater health problems than the dear old mutt. Plants
with reduced genetic diversity cannot handle drought, fungus invasions
or insects nearly as well as natural plants, which could have dire
consequences for farmers and communities dependent on GMO crops for
survival.

Once the mutant genes are out of the bag, there is no going back.
Genetically modified organisms contaminate existing seeds with their
altered material, passing on modified traits to non-target species. This
creates a new strain of plant that was never intended in the
laboratory. In North Dakota, recent studies show that 80% of wild canola
plants tested contained at least one transgene. In Japan, a modified
bacteria created a new amino acid not found in nature; it was used in
protein drinks and before it was recalled it cause severe mental and
metabolic damage to hundreds as well as several deaths. Japan banned
GMOs after this horrific experience. Monarch butterflies have also died
after their favorite food, milkweed, was cross-pollinated from Bt corn
which rendered it toxic to the endangered species.

GMOs are not the answer for global food security.
Genetically engineered crops have shown no increase in yield and no
decrease in pesticide use. In many cases other farm technology has
proven much more successful, and even Monsanto agrees that its
genetically engineered crops yield less than conventional farming.

Genetically engineered foods have not been proven to be safe, but the few studies conducted don’t look so hot. The organs of rats who ate genetically modified potatoes
showed signs of chronic wasting, and female rates fed a diet of
herbicide-resistant soybeans gave birth to stunted and sterile pups.

Big biotech firms have very sketchy track records,
but then again what would you expect from organizations who want to
patent the world’s food supply? These massive biotech companies have a
history of toxic contamination, deceiving the public and suing small
farmers when their patented seeds blew across the fence. Biotech firms
sell sterile seeds to African farmers- meaning the seeds are only good
for one season, because the plants that grow up will not be able to
reproduce. Farmers must buy new seeds every year instead of growing from
the previous year’s yield. GMOs are not the farmers’ friend.

GMOs require massive amounts of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. These
things are poisons, and should not be eaten or allowed to run off into
our water supply. But they are, every day, by companies who care far
more about the bottom line than they do about your health, your
environment or your children’s future.

The bottom line is that genetically modified organisms have not been
proven in any way to be safe, and most of the studies are actually
leaning the other direction, which is why many of the world’s countries
have banned these items whose DNA has been genetically engineered. In
America, they aren’t even labeled, much less banned, so the majority of
the populace has no idea that they are eating lab-created DNA on a daily
basis.

Now you do; your best defense is to purchase certified organic food,
which cannot contain any GMOs, and to tell your friends and loved ones
to do the same.